I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good book about being healthy in general (both healthy eating and fitness). It is not for me - I am trying to make my boyfriend realise how important a healthy lifestyle is, but I'm clearly not convincing enough. And a book will have a much bigger impact than whatever I have to say!

Would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

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Why We Get Fat: And what to do about it by Gary Taubes is probably my favorite book to read about this related topic. It won't necessarily convince someone who's not already convinced, but is a good book to get started on when the mindset changes.

I've had people try to give me advice in the past, but I've always thought that I knew better, especially if they were trying to force their views on me. I've had to go on my own health journey to find out what works for me. BJ Fogg's work in behavior change highlights 3 things that will change behavior in the long term: Have an epiphany, change your environment, or take baby steps. It may be that your boyfriend needs some kind of epiphany or experience that makes him realize he needs to change his behavior, but that's not something that can be persuaded by other people.

It's a slow process to change a mindset, and the best you can do is to be patient, supportive, and ready with advice for when he is ready to make a change.

Cofounder of CodeCombat and Skritter, experimenter of self, student of rationality, hacker of motivation. One summer I wrote a book, learned to skateboard and throw knives and lucid dream, trained for a marathon and other feats, learned a ton of Chinese.

Thanks a lot for the link Nick. I agree it's an unusual position to be in (I also know of books detailing how to eat / exercise better, but those only work if you agree with the general idea). In this case it is more of a preventative measure as my boyfriend is rather on the thin side. I am just certain that being healthier would make a big difference to his energy levels (and hence productivity), sleep quality and illness frequency. Unfortunately one person's certainty is not motivating enough for him to make significant changes to his busy life. And since in the past books such as yours have had a big influence on his behaviour, finding one for this would be amazing!

I will keep on searching, thanks for the help (the article was a good read).

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